Labor Comparison - Sealed vs. Weather-tight Closures

A few months ago, we published some information about the pros and cons of sealed versus weather-tight fiber optic splice closures (FOSCs). We recently came across some additional information on labor time when having to splice into each type in an aerial installation. Let us know if you agree!

Initial First Pass Labor

The majority of this cost is labor spent on constants that remain stable between both types of FOSCs. The cable placement and coil lengths are constant. The setup and splicing at each location is constant on the first pass, as sealed and weather-tight FOSCs can both be spliced at grade level. However, there is an opportunity to decrease time spent in low to mid-count splicing by splicing on the strand in a weather-tight FOSC. This is not possible in a sealed FOSC. Current fusion splicers are designed to withstand the weather in an outside plant deployment where strand aerial splicing can be a consistent time and cost saving methodology. This should be an area of risk versus reward depending on weather and technician proficiency.

Key to remember:

At-grade splicing can occur on both sealed and weather-tight FOSCs.

Aerial splicing can occur only in weather-tight FOSCs.

Aerial splicing in a slack loop-type design does not require special equipment to perform at the bucket. Considerations of environmental protection such as tents and heaters can improve productivity but are not required to perform the splicing. Note: Taut sheath, no slack splicing will require specific strand mount bracketry for the fusion splicer.